Tumbling toys



Jan. 29, 1957 A. H. HOLMAN 2,779,127

TUMBLING TOYS Filed Dec. 1, 1952. 3 2 Sheets-Sheet l 28 FIG.5

INVENTOR. alwmu 1+.-'/MAMA- United States Patent TUMBLING TOYS Alexander H. Holman, New Orleans, La., assignor of thirty-five percent to Burris D. Wood, New Orleans, La.

Application December 1, 1952, Serial No. 323,444

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-1) An object of this invention is to provide a toy which when pressed upon a vertical, or substantially vertical, smooth flat surface will automatically progress downward on this surface with an end over end motion.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a body member having a pivoted member secured at one end of the said body member and carrying a suction cup, and a like pivoted member carrying a like suction cup secured at the other end of the said body member, together and in combination with means for successively releasing from the said surface the vacuum cup which was then uppermost and additional means for then returning the released vacuum cup and its integral pivoted member to its free or striking position relative to the body member so it will automatically attach itself in a lower position on the said surface by an end over end motion of the toy.

The said object I have achieved by means of the toy which is now to be described in detail and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the inventive idea.

The novel nature and characteristics of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention both as to organization and operation will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiment in connection with the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a front view of the toy.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the toy.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of one end portion of the toy showing one optional modification.

Fig. 4 is aview on a reduced scale showing the toy during the operation of moving down from one position to a lower position on the fixed surface S.

Fig. 5 is a side view showing the toy employed with a traveling surface.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a modified or alternative construction.

Fig. 7 is a side view of this construction.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of one end portion of this construction.

Referring in detail to the views of the drawings first to Figs. 1 to 5 the numeral 6 designates a body member, the ends of which respectively carry members 7 and 8 pivoted on the pivot pins 9 and 10 inserted in the body member 6. In the normal, or free, position of the toy shown in Fig. 2, the members 7 and 8 are reversely positioned from each other on the body member 6 which has reduced inset ends 11 and 12.

The member 7 has opposite projections 13 and 14 adapted to engage opposite sides of the end 11 according to the position of the member 7 on its pivot 9. The member 8 has opposite projections 15 and 16 adapted to engage sides of the end 12 according to the position of the member 8 on its pivot 10.

Fig. 3 shows one end portion of the toy and indicates,

that coil springs such as designated by '--22 may be 2,779,127 Patented Jan. 29, 1957 ice used as the positioning or tensioning means of the pivoted members 7 and 8 instead of rubber bands or other flexible devices as designated by 20 and 22.

The pivoted member 7 has a flexible cup-shaped member or vacuum cup 17 secured thereto. The member 8 has a like cup-shaped member or vacuum cup 18 secured thereto. A pin 19 passes through the middle of the body 6 and is secured therein. A tensioning or positioning device such as a rubber band 20 is secured at one end to the pin 19 on one side of the body 6 and extends to the'projection 14 of the pivoted member 7 and is secured thereto. A like tensioning or positioning device 22 is secured at one end to the pin 19 on the other side of the body 6 and extends to the projection 15 of the pivoted member 8 and is secured thereto. These tensioning or positioning devices hold the pivoted members 7 and 8 at substantially right angles to the body 6 and oppositely faced in their normal or free positions.

Also secured to the pin 19, one on each side of the body 6 are the releasing devices or curved springs 23 and 21, extending toward the pivoted members 7 and 8 respectively and residing on opposite sides of the body 6 from the tensioning or positioning means 20 and 22 respectively.

In Fig. 4 the toy is seen in operation and to clearly follow this drawing it must be understood that the toy as shown in Fig. 2 has been turned upside down before being seated on the surface S. -Having turned the toy upside down the vvacuum cup member 17 is pressed upon the surface S and thetoy is allowed to fall around the axis or pivot of pivoted member 7. During this fall the tensioning or positioning device, or rubber band. 20 is being stretched and the releasing device or curved spring 23 is approaching the surface S. Continuing this motion it will be seen that as the vacuum cup member 18 is just short of striking the surface S, the releasing device 23 will be just touching the lip of the attached vacuum cup member 17 at a point in conjunction with the surface 'S. The striking of the surface S by the vacuum cup member 18 and the consequent automatic attachment of itself thereto takes place simultaneously, or nearly so, with the entering of the tip of the releasing device 23 between the lip of the vacuum cup member 17 and the surface S. Air now entering the vacuum area I of the vacuum cup member 17 releases the same from the surface S. As the toy now falls around the axis or pivot of the pivoted member 8 and its vacuum cup member 18 which is now attached to the surface S, the tensioning or positioning means 20 retracts and returns pivoted member 17 and its vacuum cup member 17 to its free or striking position relative to the body 6. Since the above described action is substantially identical for both ends of the toy, the said toy automatically progresses end over end downward on the surface S.

Fig. 5 shows a traveling surface instead of the fixed surface S shown in Fig. 4. This traveling surface is embodied in an endless band 24 which runs on an idler pulley 25 on a shaft 26 mounted in the top end portion of a standard 27 extending up from a base member 28. The band 24 runs around an active or live pulley 29 secured to a shaft 30 rotatably mounted in the lower portion of the standard 27. A handle 31 is secured to the shaft 30 for turning it in the direction indicated in the drawing by an arrow. The toy is shown on a reduced scale and may be constructed the same as in the other Figures 1-4, or may be used without the releasing devices 23 and 21 shown in the Figures 1-4. If used without the said releasing devices 23 and 21, the toy will operate on this surface only at the top, or position shown in Fig. 5, where the lip of the vacuum cup then uppermost rides over the curvature of the continuous band 24 passing over the idle pulley 25, allowing air to enter the vacuum space of the said vacuum cup.

Referring to Figures 6, 7, and 8, the toy is shown in modified or alternative form, said modifications consisting of the difference in the means used forreleasing the vacuum cups from the surface upon which the toy operates and the method of attaching and placing the tensioning or positioning means of the pivoted end members.

"Referring now in detail to the Figures 6, 7, and 8, the numeral 32 designates a body member the ends of which respectively carry the pivoted members 33 and 34 mounted on the pivots 35 and 36 inserted in the body member 32, which has reduced inset ends 55 and 56. The pivoted member 33 has opposite projections 37 and 38, adapted to engage opposite sides of the end 55 according to the position of the said pivoted member 33 on its pivot 35. The pivoted member 34 has opposite projections 39 and 40 adapted to engage opposite sides of the end 56 according to the position of the said pivoted member 34 on its pivot 36. The pivoted member 33 has a flexible cup-shaped member or vacuum cup secured thereto. The pivoted member 34 has a like cup-shaped member or vacuum cup 47 secured thereto. A tensioning or positioning device such as a rubber band or rubber cord 45 is secured at one end to the projection 37 of the pivoted member 33, and extends through a slot 46 cut into the body member 32, and is secured at its other end to the projection 39 of the pivoted member 34.

The pivoted member 33 has an adjustable pin 43 screw threaded through it to cooperate with a perforation 44 in the vacuum cup member 41. The pivoted member 34 has an adjustable pin 49 screw threaded through it to cooperate with a perforation 50 in the vacuum cup member 47.

In the normal or free position of the toy in this form the pivoted members 33 and 34 are held at substantially right angles relative to the body member 32 and oppositely faced, and the ends of the pins 43 and 49 effectively seal the perforations 44 and 50 in the vacuum cups 41 and 47 respectively.

Fig. 7 shows the toy in this form in a phase of its operation in moving downward on the surface S. The end of the toy carrying the pivoted member 34 and its vacuum cup 47 has swung down on the axis of the still attached pivoted member 33 and through the force of this swing has attached its said vacuum cup member 47 to the surface S. During this swing the weight of the toy in addition to the pull of the tensioning of positioning member has tended to pull around or rotate the pivoted member 33 on its axis or pivot 35 into a position abnormal to its free relationship with its vacuum cup 41, which is presently attached to the surface 'S. This movement is possible due to the resiliency of the vacuum cup member 41. As a result of this movement the adjustable pin 43 is pulled away from its seat in the perforation 44 of the vacuum cup member 41, allowing air to enter the vacuum space of the said member 41, and thereby releasing the same from the said surface S. It is to be understood, in this connection that the perforations 44 and are very minute and the pins 43 and 49 are adjustable to hold the rate of the entering air to a desired minimum. Since the above described action is substantially identical for both ends of the toy, the said toy automatically progresses end over end downward on the said surface S.

It is believed that the foregoing description and accompanying drawings fully and understandably reveal this invention.

I claim:

'In a tumbling toy, the combination of an elongated body member, a member horizontally pivoted to each end of said body member, an inset abutment at each end of said body member, opposite projections on each of said pivoted members for striking said abutmentto limit rotation to approximately a flexible tensioning device stretched between and resiliently connecting a projection on one pivoted member to a projection on the other and tending to normally face the pivoted members in opposite directions, a perforated suction cup secured to the face of each of said pivoted members, and valve means carried by the connected projections for closing the perforations when the cups are fastened to a single surface but adapted to open such as for bleeding the upper suction cup upon distortion of said upper suction cup by the pulling force of said tensioning device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

